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FAQs on Glassfishes

Related Articles: Glassfishes, Family Ambassidae/Chandidae, Glassfishes: Family Ambassidae An Introduction to the Amazing Glassfishes By Neale Monks, Seeing it through with glassfish; How to succeed with these misunderstood fish By Neale Monks, Seems Fishy To Me: The Painted Glassfish by Spencer Glass,

Related FAQs: Brackish Water Fishes in General,

Parambassis ranga painted up for sale. PLEASE DON'T BUY THEM

Freshwater - New Fish - Missing Mouth? 6/27/16
Good evening guys,
<Hell Dave,>
I have a 30 gallon fresh water tank. I have 2 Julie and 2 Albino Cory catfish, 2 White Skirt Tetras,
<These are aggressive and nippy if you don't keep them in large enough groups.>
a female Guppy, and 2 Painted Glass fish.
<Please don't buy painted fish. It's an extremely cruel process that should have been banned years ago. Indeed, it's died out completely in the UK, but in some countries it still goes on. Please don't create demand for this!
Not only cruel, demonstrably shortens the lives of the fish.>
I have a large castle, a smaller castle, and numerous fake plants for cover. I used to have a Beta for 3yrs until I think it over ate on some Guppy babies about six months ago and died.
<Not sure about the cause-and-effect here! Three years is a reasonable age for a Betta (which rhymes with "better", not "beater") so more likely you'd kept this chap quite well and he simply died from old age.>
Anyhow, my kids have been bugging me for some new fish, and I took a trip to the local store and acquired some more.
<Good to see they enjoy the hobby. But please do temper their enthusiasm with some reading on your part!>
2 female Guppies (one died the first night after introduction)
1 male Swordtail (bright orange and black, full tail)
<Can be aggressive.>
2 female Swordtails (what they told me, but I think one of them is actually an Orange Molly)
1 small Beta
<Not suitable for this community tank. Good chance it'll get nipped by the White Skirt Tetras (also known as Black Widows or Petticoat Tetras, or more properly, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi). Failing that, the Swordtail will go for it. Do also understand that whereas Swordtails need cool (22-25C/72-77F)
water and fairly strong currents, Bettas require warmer water (24-28C/75-82 F) and hate strong currents. So not much overlap between them, and unlikely to thrive in the same tank. Now, I know this sounds a bit tiresome, but a lot of fish health problems are best avoided by careful stocking.
Treatment, as we shall see, isn't always easy.>
I introduced the new fish Tuesday night with the lights off, and kept the lights off all of Wednesday. I did turn the light on late Wednesday night for a little bit of light and to feed them - all looks normal. Thursday when I got home from work at dinner time, I noticed my male Swordtail was either shedding some of his orange scales or being picked at (didn't witness this) so now he has a lot of white/gray patches where he's missing his bright orange. His sword tail is also about 1/3 shorter than what it was. I've spent a few hours now combined watching these fish, and there is no fighting.
<But clearly something happened. This chap has certainly been turned on and harassed. Hard to say by whom, but both the White Skirt Tetras and the Swordtails have track records for being nippy and/or aggressive. To be clear, I would not keep White Skirt Tetras alongside anything delicate, and would only keep them in large groups (so they don't get bored, which leads to nippiness) and with active midwater or bottom swimming fish like loaches (which can keep out of trouble). Swordtails are a mixed bag, females generally peaceful enough if pushy, but males can vary from quite easy going all the way through to extremely aggressive and spiteful. Swordtails are generally fine with dissimilar fish (loaches, catfish, cichlids) but less trustworthy with other livebearers (Guppies, Platies and Mollies) which seem to elicit aggressive tendencies from males who view them as rivals or potential mates.>
They all appear to be getting along.
<Hmm...>
Today is Friday, and my original Guppy and the male Swordtail seem to have had the tips of their mouths ripped off and both are swimming at the surface. My guppy's fins are fine, it's just the white blunt end of his mouth (what's left of it).
<Indeed. I'm a bit worried by the clamped fins on the orange fish (some sort of Molly?) as well as the white mess around the mouth of the grey fish (a female Guppy) though your photo isn't terribly sharp so I can't be 100% sure what I'm looking at. In any case, clamped fins indicate stress, and the first thing to do is check the water chemistry and quality. Both these species need hard, alkaline water. So 10-25 degrees dH hardness, and a pH somewhere between 7 and 8. Neither handles poor water quality well. So zero nitrite and ammonia, and Mollies also tolerate nitrate badly, so nitrate should be below 40 mg/l and ideally below 20 mg/l. At the very least be sure you own a pH test kit and a nitrite (with an "i") test kit. These two will tell your the most useful stats. Forget about asking your shop to do water tests if they simply tell you something qualitatively, like "your water is fine" because this is very unhelpful. For a start, what's good for White Skirt Tetras isn't good for Mollies! One is a soft water fish, the other a hard water fish. So what we need are the actual numbers. Some good pet shops will give you the numbers, often the mom-and-pop places run by enthusiasts. The big box stores, the PetCos and whatnot, tend to be staffed by people who mean well but don't really have any expertise in the field, and are primarily motivated by the desire to sell you stuff. >
Looking at my tank, it's my Painted Glass fish that are the biggest, quickest, and sometimes they go a little nuts.
<Glassfish are certainly fast and definitely predatory (I've seen them take down Neons!) but don't usually harass other fish, though again, I've always kept this species in big groups, six or more, and like all schooling fish, if you keep just two or three, well, all bets are off about how well they'll behave. Nice species, and being tolerant of slightly brackish
water, excellent companions for Mollies and other livebearers. Provided you don't want to breed those Mollies, because Glassfish will eat any baby fish they see!>
I would think that given they've been in the tank for years with that same Guppy, that perhaps it wasn't them.
<Agreed. But here's the thing. Animals, including fish, tend to ignore other animals they've been raised alongside. They see them almost as scenery. But add another fish, even something similar to the fish already in the tank, and those newcomers are viewed in a different way. As a threat, as a rival, as food, even as a playmate. So just because one Guppy has been fine with your Glassfish doesn't mean another Guppy added today would be treated just as well. Make sense?>
What I'm calling the female Swordtails, the smallest is really docile and at the moment he's acting a little strange on the bottom of the tank.
<If rocking from side to side, and with her fins clamped to her side, indicates stress; called the Shimmies, and never a good sign with livebearers. Usually means something wrong with water quality or water chemistry.>
The bigger one that I think is an Orange Molly is a fair size (equal size to the male Swordtail) and seems to be doing quite fine. The Beta sleeps in the small castle, and comes out from time to time... doesn't seem to bother anyone. If anything, I'd think the other fish would bother him. The Beta isn't big enough to tackle these wounded fish in my opinion.
<Agreed, and Bettas rarely harass dissimilar fish. Like Swordtails, their aggression is directed towards their own kind, i.e., other male Bettas.
Sometimes they go for very similar fish, such as small Gouramis. But rarely do they go for other fish.>
Thoughts? Given the history of the tank, I think perhaps the bigger female/Orange Molly/Swordtail? If this is the case, isn't it odd that he'd pick on a big Guppy and a Swordtail his size?
Dave
<Hope the above helps. I'd be checking water quality and chemistry; upping the numbers of the more social species; and medicating as per Finrot (not using Melafix or anything like that, but a proper antibiotic) because Finrot and probably Mouth "Fungus" (Columnaris) are what you're dealing with so far as symptoms go. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Freshwater - New Fish - Missing Mouth? 8/28/16
Thanks for your note. Yes, I hadn't realized these glass fish were injected at the time of purchase, as I recall having seen some sort of neon striped glass fish that are naturally colored.
<Unfortunately not. All the ones in the trade are artificially coloured.
Please understand that pet shops routinely lie about this. They insist that the Glassfish traded are naturally coloured, or that it's done harmlessly.
All lies. There are some photos kicking about of Filament Glassfish displaying traces of white or blue on their fins, but these fish are extremely rare in the hobby, and not sold by mainstream pet stores.>
In any event, I wasn't impressed with my purchase - hey, at least I avoided the jellybean frogs.
<Yikes!>
This mouth fungus you speak of, can that suddenly occur within two days and kill a fish?
<Definitely. Columnaris is a bacterial infection, despite the "mouth fungus" name, and can kill fish very quickly.>
It's now Saturday morning... the Guppy and the male Swordtail are dead, as is the female Swordtail. Everyone else doing fine. I'm aware of the temperature preferences and keep the tank right at the 24/25 range to accommodate both preferences.
<Understood.>
My water test shows no signs of nitrates/nitrites/ammonia.
<Now this is VERY fishy. Check your test kits. While zero ammonia and nitrite are possible, zero nitrate is practically impossible. It would imply no animals in the aquarium, no biological filtration, and no bacterial decay. Seems unlikely, no? So, go back and use your kits again, and see if you're using them correctly. Something is VERY amiss if you're
getting zero nitrate.>
pH checks out as well.
<Meaning what? What's the pH value? The right pH for tetras is around 6.5 to 7, whereas for a Molly would be between 7.5 and 8, so "checks out as well" means nothing in an aquarium with both species. Do please understand
the quality of the help I can offer depends on the quality of the information supplies, and that means numbers, not interpretations. Make sense?>
Given the sudden 'missing mouths' I think this was some sort of attack. I hear you about the White Skirt Tetras, but these fish seem to be the most timid fish in the tank.
<Understood.>
Current stock now includes
The 4 Corys
Beta
<Betta, from a Thai word, "Bettah".>
1 new Guppy
1 female Sword or Orange Molly?
2 White Skirt Tetras
2 Painted Glass Fish
I was thinking that I should keep an eye on water for two weeks, and then acquire 1 or 2 White Skirt Tetras to keep their numbers up.
<Certainly a half dozen or more is what you/they want.>
Possibly 1 each of the Julie and Albino Cory's so they're in 3's each.
<Sensible move.>
2 or 3 Guppies so that I don't just have one.
<Guppies are not social, so this isn't a big issue. Singleton males or females can do perfectly well.>
Question is, what to do with the Orange Molly - could she have been the problem biting off the mouths of an equal sized Swordtail and a slightly smaller Guppy?
<Unlikely; female Mollies are generally pretty easy going.>
Dave
<Cheers, Neale.>

Indian Glass Fish; sources 11/26/14
Dear Madam/Sir,
> I am interested in the Indian Glassfish, which are several species ( Parambassis ranga, Parambassis lala, and Parambassis siamensis).
> Do you know of breeders I could contact?
> Thank you very much,
> Itamar Harel, Ph.D.
> The Brunet Lab
> Department of Genetics
> Stanford University School of Medicine
Indian Glass Fish
Hello Dr. Harel,
I do not know any commercial breeders.
Are you aware of the book “Ornamental Aquarium Fish of India” by John Dawes, Kishori Tekriwal, Andrew Arunava Rao? The last two authors, Tekriwal and Rao, give a brief review of the aquarium trade in India and would probably be worth contacting about breeders and/or collectors.
Otherwise, getting in touch with the major importers in your country/state would be the next step. In the UK certain retailers have a reputation for being able to import specific fish for academic usage. Wildwoods, in Enfield, for example, has worked with researchers at the Natural History Museum in this way on work being done on snakeheads.

Diagnosing disease (FW, glass fish), Lymph. 2/2/09 Crew, I've checked your website (used Neale's diagnosis chart) as well as Googled and can't come up with something that fits. I need your help. I have a 20-gal tall sparsely populated at the moment (2 glass fish and 1 dwarf Pleco). I had a cross-species kill off about a 1 to 2 months ago (1 dwarf Gourami, 1 molly, 1 dwarf African frog, and two other glass fish). I was watching water conditions and waiting until things settled before adding more fish. Water conditions have consistently now been stable (0 nitrite, 0 ammonia, 10 nitrate) and higher ph (7.8+) due to municipal water source, and I do scheduled 50-60% water changes every two weeks. But now this. One glass fish now has white/cream colored spots that first appeared where the side fins attached to its body. Now it's on both side fins and at the base of the tail. There are no lesions at its mouth (so not cotton-wool disease) and the fins are not rotting away (so no fin rot). I've dealt w/ ick before - this isn't it. And I wouldn't say the spots are cauliflower or raspberry like. There are no other symptoms except to say that the sick one is being bullied by the second remaining glass fish. Oh - and we moved the tank from one room to the another about three weeks ago (yes. a stressor for sure). I was going to add about 6 - 10 more glass fish (as I know they do better in numbers) but now I don't know if that is such a good idea. I tried to get pictures but my camera and fish isn't cooperating. Any thoughts on what I am dealing with? And any thoughts on treatment? I can't imagine a lone glassfish would do well in a QT. Given this, would it be wise to add the other glass fish at this point? I go back and forth between adding the community that makes the remaining two feel more comfortable (lessening stress) w/ possibility of these white/yellowish spots being contagious. Hmmmm. Thanks! Kristi <Hi Kristi. This is almost certainly Lymphocystis, a viral disease that Glassfish are rather prone to. On the plus side, it isn't fatal, it's not contagious to other types of fish, and all else being good, they do recover in time. The down side is that it takes a while to get better, if it does at all. Here's my thoughts about Lympho and Glassfish. I've never had to deal with it, but I keep my specimens in soft to moderately hard water. The people who know that do get it, tend to be keeping them in hard freshwater. It's also very common on painted Glassfish. So my gut feeling is that it's more or less likely to appear (or go away) depending on what we might consider "environmental" stresses. This isn't to say Glassfish can't be kept in hard water, or even brackish water, as old books used to suggest, but I suspect that for whatever reason, doing so tips the balance in favour of the virus. In any case, there isn't much you can do, and with luck it'll go away in a few months. Check water quality, optimise (vary!) diet, and generally do anything you can to help this fish feel happy. Adding some more specimens might be entirely appropriate, if that dissipates some of the aggression. I do agree that Glassfish are semi-aggressive in small numbers. Hope this helps, Neale.>
Re: Diagnosing disease (FW, glass fish) - 02/08/09 Update - the infected fish (see email below) is now missing part of his back tail fin. The membrane and fin rays are both missing. However, the side fins do not appear to have any damage...although that was one of the first places the white-ish spots appeared. These white-ish spots have also appeared on his top eyelids, however his eyes remain clear. I did add 10 glass fish - so now we have a full community of 12 glass fish, along with a lone dwarf Pleco. Unfortunately, the new glass fish stock came w/ white spot (ich) so I'm about to start treatment for that. So, in addition to the ich treatment, do I treat for Finrot or do an anti-fungal as suggested by 11B in the Neale's trouble-shooting table? Please suggest specific products as I have not dealt w/ either Finrot or fungi issues before. If I cannot treat concurrently w/ the ich, which one should I concentrate on first? Help! Kristi <Hello Kristi. If fin material is disappearing, then some sort of Finrot is probable. Fungus often appears at the same time. Both Finrot and Fungus are infections of damaged or diseased tissue exposed to the environment. Anyway, here in England there are antibacterial medications based on copper, formalin, and/or organic dyes (malachite green, Methylene blue) that treat both together, for example eSHa 2000. While antibiotics (such as Maracyn) work well against Finrot, they have little to no impact on Fungus, so if you choose to use an antibiotic, you will need to treat with an anti-fungal medication as well. The main thing is to avoid either salt or tea-tree oil (e.g., Melafix, Pimafix) as neither of these are reliable cures. Whilst I'm not overly familiar with the US marketplace, products such as Seachem Sulfathiazole and Seachem NeoPlex are stated by the manufacturers to cure both. Cheers, Neale.>

Questions about stocking with glassfish and guppies -- 06/26/08 Hello, my name is Jean. <Hi Jean!> Your site is a font of wonderful information! Keep up the good work! <Thanks.> I have a 20 gallon tall freshwater tank. I currently have 3 guppies and 3 (formerly painted) glassfish in it. I know I should keep my glassfish in larger schools, so I do plan on getting more (unpainted!) glassfish soon. Additionally, I think all 3 of my guppies are male (I think what I see is a gonopodium on each, and no one has ever gotten pregnant), but they do not seem to be bothering each other too much, no nipping at all. I had another psycho guppy previously who was a killing machine, I returned him. <Fairly common for male Guppies to be highly aggressive. Does rather depend on the number of fish, size of the tank.> My questions are: What additional fish can I add to this tank that will get along with my glassfish and guppies? Should I do anything about having all male guppies, if they seem to be doing alright? I'm not itching for fry right now! I would like any additions to my tank to be peaceful, as I don't want another psycho killer fish. <Glassfish will mix with anything that doesn't actually eat them. I keep mine in a tank with South American puffers, Corydoras, halfbeaks, Limia nigrofasciata, and various catfish and tetras.> Further, I add about 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons to my tank, for the sake of the glassfish and general health. The guppies don't mind. <Neither Glassfish nor Guppies need salt. In fact the Glassfish traded in the hobby are all freshwater fish. The idea they NEED salt is likely down to misidentification, with the fish being sold (Parambassis spp.) being mistake for brackish water Ambassis spp.> My hardness (GH) is a constant 120 ppm, and my pH is currently at 6.8. <Ideal for Glassfish and indeed most other soft water fish. Tetras and Corydoras would be excellent options. Guppies do tend to be sickly in soft water and at acidic pH levels, and your addition of salt is certainly helping here somewhat. Still, I'd tend to phase out livebearers in favour of true soft water fish.> What other fish can I add considering the salt level? I've considered mollies but can't they be aggressive, especially with the guppies? <Mollies and Guppies can fight, so not a good combo. Besides, your tank is WAY too small for Mollies.> Further, are there any bottom feeders that would be o.k. in this environment? (I love exotic little Plecos, like Bristlenoses, but heard they can't stand the salt). <Ancistrus and hardy Corydoras species can easily tolerate low salt levels such as those you are using. Anything measured in spoons is inaccurate, so forgive me for not using such methods. But normal seawater has 35 grammes of marine salt mix per litre. One-tenth salinity would be easily tolerated by Corydoras and Ancistrus, and works out at 3.5 grammes per litre. But to be honest, I'd bin the Guppies, or rather ignore salt and instead harden the water in a more effective way using Malawi Salt mixes, such as: Per 5 gallons/20 litres 1 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) 1 tablespoon Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) 1 teaspoon marine salt mix (sodium chloride + trace elements) This is easy to make up using stuff from drug stores, grocery stores and/or pet stores and costs pennies per water change. For the fish you're keeping, one-quarter to one-half the dose described above would be ample. For guppies, you're after pH 7.5, 10-20 degrees dH.> Thanks so much! <Cheers, Neale.>

Old Discussion on Dragon Goby, New Discussion on Glassfish, BW plt.s 2/22/07 On 2/20/07, crew <crew@mail.wetwebmedia.com> wrote: Dragon Gobies Stuck in Aquarium Ornaments 2/20/07 [...]<Actually, that's exactly where my Dragon lives. The fake mangrove root I have in my BW tank, has an end of one of the roots broken off & he slips inside it & lives in there. He has no problem turning around inside the ornament & comes out often, to eat.> LOL how cool :) I'm such a worry-wart (my girls call him "Mama's little bog monster.") - just had this vision of the poor little guy getting stuck in something like that. < [...]<Sounds like a happy life for your Dragon!> So far so good! I've bought 2 glassfish (au naturale, no ink thanks) - Chanda ranga, for the brackish tank They are still in quarantine, but for all I've read, they should be good tankmates for him. I know that they were eating flake food in the store but I can't seem to get them to eat anything so far (have tried flake food, frozen brine shrimp, frozen AND freeze-dried bloodworms, freeze-dried plankton). I've read varying accounts of glassfish, some say they are good eaters, others say they need live food. They are very timid, I'm wondering if they would eat better if there were more of them in my tank (5 or 6 total)? <<A school of them would be nice. They may just be adjusting to their new home.>> I don't even know where to get live food - I tried to grow my own brine shrimp for my livebearer fry but I'm filing that one under "failed experiment." <> Seems like I read that you have a planted brackish tank? <Nope, I have a 90g planted discus tank. No surviving plants in my BW tank. ~PP> Heheh well that might be us pretty soon too, I have read it's very hard to keep plants in salty water. What about marine plants though? Do you think any of them could do well in BW? <Marine plants won't fair well till a SG of around 1.018. There are many BW plants that folks have success with, just not worth the trouble for me, since I already have a FW planted tank I'm happy with. Here's a great thread on BW plants: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4792&highlight=brackish+plants ~PP> Thanks again, Cathy

Sick glass fish, ich, insufficient info. 1/19/07 My glass fish have what appears to be ich. However when I treated for it, it didn't work. I then just as a last ditch effort (I'm a fish novice) used a anti bacterial powder and now it seems to be getting better. Any clue what it could be??? <Likely is Ich... but not treated "thoroughly"... in a carbonate-free setting, with elevated temperature, a lack of chemical filtration... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: sick glass fish 1/19/07 Thanks... i use aquarium salt in my tank and did take out the carbon filter, but didn't know to raise the temp. Are there any signs I will notice from the temp increase? <Mmm, perhaps more rapid to labored breathing, faster, more movement> That way I want freak out if they are acting different. Also, since the antibacterial med seems to be working, should I continue with that as my course of treatment or go back to the ich cure medicine? <The latter> Any tricks of the trade to keeping fish happy, healthy would also be appreciated! <Read the FAQs files as directed... Bob Fenner>

Stocking with glassfish and guppies 5/27/06 Hello, my name is Jean. <<Hello, Jean. Mine's Tom.>> Your site is a font of wonderful information! Keep up the good work! <<Thank you kindly and I'll do my best for you.>> I have a 20 gallon tall freshwater tank. <<Okay. (I'll make a little "mental note" that it's "tall".>> I currently have 3 guppies and 3 (formerly painted) glassfish in it. I know I should keep my glassfish in larger schools, so I do plan on getting more (unpainted!) glassfish soon. Additionally, I think all 3 of my guppies are males (I think what I see is a gonopodium on each, and no one has ever gotten pregnant), but they do not seem to be bothering each other too much, no nipping at all. I had another psycho guppy previously who was a killing machine, I returned him. <<Hmmm...a psycho Guppy. I understand what you're saying but, you must admit, it sounds a little humorous.>> My questions are: What additional fish can I add to this tank that will get along with my glassfish and guppies? <<Provided you quarantine first, any of the smaller varieties of Tetras should be fine. Cardinals, Neons, Black Neons, et. al. A "tall" tank doesn't have the surface area for a great deal of gas/oxygen exchange so you're better off with small fish. I, additionally, would stress quarantine with the Neons. 'Neon Tetra Disease' isn't isolated to these fish only. There's no known treatment and it's virtually 100% fatal to any fish that contracts it. Bad news? I know of this first-hand. Good news? They were quarantined when it killed 11 out of 12 of my Black Neons. As you might surmise, I can't stress 'quarantine' enough.>> Should I do anything about having all male guppies, if they seem to be doing alright? <<If you don't see any problems arising I wouldn't worry.>> I'm not itching for fry right now! <<Understood.>> I would like any additions to my tank to be peaceful, as I don't want another psycho killer fish. <<I'll leave Piranhas out of the equation then... :)>> Further, I add about 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons to my tank, for the sake of the glassfish and general health. The guppies don't mind. My hardness (gH) is a constant 120 ppm, and my pH is currently at 6.8. What other fish can I add considering the salt level? <<Just about any.>> I've considered mollies but can't they be aggressive, especially with the guppies? <<Depends on the fish, Jean. I can't tell you that a lot of this isn't a 'crap shoot'. Mollies are great fish and typically mild-mannered and peaceful. Can you wind up with a "rogue"? Sure you can. I've heard of fish that should never get along becoming "buddies". We try to advise based on "likelihoods", not certainties. Anyone who tells you differently hasn't done his/her research.>> Further, are there any bottom feeders that would be o.k. in this environment? (I love exotic little Plecos, like bristlenoses, but heard they can't stand the salt). <<It's true that Catfish, generally, don't appreciate salt in the water but one tablespoon per five gallons isn't likely to be a problem at all. A lot of times, when salt 'treatment' is recommended - at much higher dosages than you have - we advise against such when Catfish are living in the aquarium. If I had one admonition here it would be to return back to the size of your tank. Bristlenose Plecos tend to stay small but get large enough that oxygenation might be an issue. If it were a long tank, with a larger "footprint", I'd tell you to go for it.>> Thanks so much! <<Hopefully, I've been of some help, Jean. Tom>>

Glassfish... not all brackish... Very useful input re husbandry of Ambassids/Chandids - 2/11/2006 Dear Robert, <Neale> I hope you're keeping well. <Trying... intermittently> I wanted to drop you a line about glassfish. While the idea that these fish need salty water has been around for years (and I certainly believed it to be true) this does seem to be a myth. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/glassfishes.htm <Ah, yes> Currently, there are at least 8 species traded more or less regularly in the UK, and I'd imagine this holds true for the United States as well. <Most places, just two...> The 'dwarf' species sold as Indian or common glassfish are Parambassis ranga, Parambassis siamensis, and Parambassis lala, in that order of frequency. They are quite tricky to distinguish when small, though as adults P. ranga at 7 cm is almost twice as big as the smallest species, P. lala. Essentially, P. ranga has a vague dark spot behind the eye, P. lala has three vertical bands, and P. siamensis has no markings at all. P. siamensis is also distinctly elongate compared with the others. Male P. ranga can have whitish edges to the pelvic fins while P. lala have white-blue edges to the anal and dorsal fins. Two other species of Parambassis are traded, these are the 'giant' Glassfishes, P. wolffii and P. pulcinella. The later needs no description -- its common name of hump-headed glassfish describes it pretty well. The other species has only recently reappeared in the marketplace. The last time I saw them was twenty years ago. These are large fish, around 20 cm long, and highly predatory, schooling predators. One final glassfish that has also reappeared in UK shops is Gymnochanda filamentosa. This is a small species (4 cm at most) notable for the greatly extended dorsal and anal fin rays on the males. According to Frank SchÃ¤fer in the recent Aqualog 'Brackish Water Fishes' book, all species of Parambassis and Gymnochanda are found either primarily or exclusively in freshwater habitats. <This is also stated on fishbase.org> Of the list species mentioned above, the ones he says are sometimes found in slightly brackish water are P. ranga and P. lala. All the others, he insists, are freshwater fish, some even from blackwater habits. For the last year I have been keeping P. ranga in a soft, acid aquarium (pH 6.5, DH < 7) with no problems at all. In fact, quite the reverse: these fish have grown very rapidly, and have proved to be aggressive at feeding time and exceptionally hardy, in particular showing a marked resistance to Whitespot. <Well-stated> In my brackish water book due out later this year, I say as much, and suggest that most glassfish are freshwater species and only some are salt tolerant, and I have tried to clarify this issue in an article in Practical Fishkeeping (Crystal clear: keeping glassfish, February, 2006). <Very good> My experience with P. ranga also suggests that live foods are not required. Mine admittedly only show moderate interest in frozen bloodworms, but they greedily take frozen lobster eggs and small pieces of cooking shrimps. The lobster eggs can be obtained from aquarium stores dealing with marine invertebrates and make an excellent staple. Live foods such as Daphnia and mosquito larvae are, of course, very readily eaten, and I would imagine that they would eat small livebearer fry, too. These glassfish have proved to be robust community fish, and have coexisted happily with Celebes halfbeaks, a South American puffer, cardinal tetras, and a variety of other small to medium sized fish. They are exceptionally fast swimmers, and seem perfectly able to avoid trouble from things like territorial dwarf cichlids. One surprise has been how readily they school with Hatchetfish, and oddly enough, how happy the Hatchetfish seem to be with glassfish. They make a nice combination. Finally, SchÃ¤fer also suggests that the species of glassfish most commonly dyed is P. siamensis. I cannot verify this: very few, if any, aquarium stores in England still offer painted glassfish. <Good for them> But certainly the image on your web site reminds me more of that species than P. ranga. To my eye at least, P. siamensis is about 3 times as long as it is deep, while the other two dwarf glassfish are only 2 times as long as they are deep. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/MiscFishPIX/Parambassis_rangaLymph.jpg It is, I suppose, possible that there are populations of P. ranga and P. lala that come from brackish water and need salt added to the aquarium; all I can say is that adding salt should be thought of more as a supplement for glassfish that are obviously not healthy rather than as a staple required by all of them. I hope that this is useful, and wish you all the very best. Sincerely, Neale <Thank you for this valuable input Neale. Will post/share. Look forward to your new book. Bob Fenner>

Painted Glass[fish] AKA "Tetras" Parambassis (Chanda) ranga 5/23/03 WWM Crew, <cheers, Andy> As I have recently found out my Painted Glass Tetras are actually a type of perch - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art7686.asp, I would like to know what kind of conditions are good for them and what other fish can I put with them? <we have an FAQ page dedicated to them here, my friend: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/chandidfaqs.htm and much more info on fishbase.org here: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=10130&genusname=Parambassis&speciesname=ranga P.S. I would like to commend you on your website and the information it contains. I have learned quite a bit from reading your site and I have put it in my web browser favorites. <thanks kindly! It is redeeming for us to hear. Best regards, Anthony>

Painted Glass tetras (Ambassids) We recently purchased some Painted Glass Tetras. They look really nice. But when I was doing some research on them (something I will do BEFORE I buy anymore fish), I found that they may not be real tetras and their coloring is injected. Is this true? Andy Barnes <Unfortunately this is true. The fish aren't true 'Tetras', they are actually a member of the Perch family. And their bright colors are nothing more than a dye that is injected into them and it often leads to early deaths and illnesses. For more information there's a good article at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art7686.asp Ronni>

Use of Glassfish images on/from WWM Mr. Fenner, Before the weekend i was contacted by the largest newspaper in Norway. They are doing an article on aquarium fish manipulated by man. I have been asked to supply them with pictures of different fish and have found most of the pictures they need, but i have no good pictures of Chanda ranga with colour injections. I found pictures on http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/glassfishes.htm and i am now looking for the right man to ask for permission to use these pictures in the paper. I would be happy if you could help me with this, and i must also say that the reporter wanted the pictures "yesterday". Please let me know if or if not you can help. PC <As the newspaper is borderline commercial/educational I'll side with allowing these images use. Are you able to use the size, resolution of the images on our site? Do you need larger scans? Bob Fenner> Per Christian Hasselgreen Oslo Akvarieklub Karl Staafs vei 1 0665 Oslo Oslo, Norway tlf +47 22 65 05 69 mob +47 98 61 05 82 pch@chello.no

Use of Glassfish images on/from WWM Hi, I am very happy that you will let us use the photos. I agree that the newspaper is borderline, but it is after all the intention to bring light on the problems in the aquarium hobby. Therefore I have not charged them for the other photos we have delivered. <Ah, good> I feel that it is important that we get this in the papers now that they are interested in us. Norway may actually get a change from the government hearings that are happening right now. We (three aquarium organizations) were actually asked to have an extra meeting with the government committee after the first hearing to discuss what measurements can be taken. <Are Sven Fossa and Alf Nilsen involved? I do hope so... they are Norwegians and very much at the forefront of the (marine) aquarium interest. Are you, your organizations familiar with John Dawes? the OFI? I am cc'ing them here as an introduction.> If you could please send the Fotos and name of who took it and granted permissions me I shall pass it on to the paper. I'll keep you posted on the development. I am not the one to answer what resolution is needed in the paper, so i would be happy if I could have a picture with higher resolution to send to the reporter so they can choose. Gratefully, PC Hasselgreen <Tiff's? Of what output size? 300 dpi? Bob Fenner>

Re: SV: SV: Oslo, Norway Hi Mr. Fenner, As I said, i don't know what format or resolution is best for them. Cant we just give them a large tiff file and then let them shrink it if they want? I think that it will be rather big in the paper, as she was most very keen on getting this picture. I really have no idea. The pictures go to the Journalist called line.dugstad@vg.no Svein Fossa is the representative for "Norsk Zoobransje Forening" which is the organization for shops here in Norway. He was therefore involved in the same hearing as us. He has contributed with some photos, too. Those were of colour-bathed fish. Alf Nilsen i must admit, i don't know, but then again I am not into salt water, except when diving, which is not often, as I live in cold, cold Norway. <Mmm, he is a partner in writing with Svein, both are very knowledgeable about issues in the hobby, trade, science of ornamental aquatics. Svein has contacted me re our correspondence. Bob Fenner> PC Re: SV: SV: Oslo, Norway Mr. Fenner. I am off to Sweden to buy some fish today. I'll be leaving in 20 minutes. I will not be able to use my phone after 2 hours from now, and of course unable to read mail. If you are able to send the pictures today, please send them to line.dugstad@vg.no She is the reporter who is covering this. <No worries. I will wait on her response to re-scan, send> Thank you very much for all your trouble so far, Gratefully PC <Be chatting, Bob Fenner>
Re: SV: Oslo, Norway Hi Bob, <Hi Svein> Thanks for Cc'ing me in on this. I am actually involved in both the parliament (and previously government) hearings on animal welfare, and the newspaper article. The hearings is something I've been involved with for years as a consultant to the Norwegian Pet Trade Assoc. The newspaper issue came about because P.C. Hasselgreen actually referred the journalist to me, referring to me as his "sharpest enemy" - no less! :-) <Ah, good. Just wanted to make sure these folks were aware of you, your involvement, expertise> As you may know, I will be addressing the Aquarama Conference in May on exactly the topic of "man made fish", so ethical dilemmas and controversies surrounding these issues is a great concern to me. <Yes> Unfortunately, some people in the Norwegian hobbyist organizations have a tendency not to listen to reason (at least not when it comes from someone that is associated with the aquatic industry, like myself). I would wish they could tread carefully when it comes to aiming for negative publicity on aquarium keeping - but they seem rather to want to create as much fuss as possible. <Unfortunately... human nature dictates that some vocal minority will often look for "trouble", to draw attention to themselves more than seeking to understand...> Getting media interest for any issue is always easier when they smell a scandal. I can only hope and pray that any positive effects of whatever the newspaper decides to run, will be greater than the negative ones. Regards, Svein <Agreed. See you in Singapore. Bob Fenner>

Re: glass fish Hi Bob~ I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", and it definitely influenced my decision to study Aquarium Science at Michigan State University next fall. Thanks for all the great information that you have passed along both on the site and in your book. <Glad to be a positive influence> I was on the Wet Web Media site, and noticed that you have glassfish in the brackish section stating that they need both salt in the aquarium and live foods to survive. I have had three of these fish for the past couple of years in my community tank with no salt, and only flake foods. They are about 1 1/2 inches long currently, and I was wondering if I should make some changes to my tank or move these fish. When I bought these fish, I was never told that they needed to be moved into brackish conditions. <Interesting... Chanda ranga? Well, our experiences definitely differ here. This is a stock item (unfortunately "colored" too often) in the aquarium trade... and so have sold over many years time (in the past). Please see here for someone else's input: http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:OfDbbS4T-VsC:perso.club-internet.fr/vmillat/tropical fish/fish/chanda_ranga.htm+chanda+ranga &hl=en&i.e=UTF-8 fishbase.org was running too slow...> Any information that you could pass along I would greatly appreciate. Thank you, Melody Scott <Thank you for the input. Bob Fenner>

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